Narayana, Hari, Rama, Krishna, Kalki, Perumal, Shrinathji, Vithoba, Venkateswara, Guruvayurappan, Ranganatha, Jagannath, Badrinath and Muktinath are among the names of popular avatars all seen as different aspects of the same supreme being.

[33] According to Dandekar, what is understood today as Vaishnavism did not originate in Vedism at all, but emerged from the merger of several popular theistic traditions which developed after the decline of Brahmanism at the end of the Vedic period, closely before the second urbanisation of northern India, in the 7th to 4th century BCE.

U. V. Swaminathan Aiyar, a scholar of Tamil literature, published the ancient work of the Sangam period known as the Paripatal, which contains seven poems in praise of Vishnu, including references to Krishna and Balarama.

[43] The Vaishnava school of the south based its teachings on the Naradiya Pancharatra and the Bhagavata from the north and laid stress on a life of purity, high morality, worship and devotion to only one God.

Vaishnavism checked the elaborate rituals, ceremonials, vratas, fasts, and feasts prescribed by the Smritis and Puranas for the daily life of a Hindu, and also the worship of various deities like the sun, the moon, the grahas or planets, enjoined by the priestly Brahmin class for the sake of emoluments and gain.

The accompanying philosophies of Advaita and Vishishtadvaita brought the lower classes into the fold of practical Hinduism, and extended to them the right and privilege of knowing God and attaining mukti (salvation).

[citation needed] The Sri Vaishnava acharya Ramanuja is credited with the conversion of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana (originally called Bittideva) from Jainism to Vaishnavism, consolidating the faith in Karnataka.

[45] The Chalukyas and their rivals of the Pallavas appear to have employed Vaishnavism as an assertion of divine kingship, one of them proclaiming themselves as terrestrial emanations of Vishnu while the other promptly adopted Shaivism as their favoured tradition, neither of them offering much importance to the other's deity.

[46] The Sri Vaishnava sampradaya of Ramanuja would hold sway in the south, the Vadakalai denomination subscribing to Vedanta philosophy and the Tenkalai adhering to regional liturgies known as Prabandham.

[57][38] But following the Huna invasions, especially those of the Alchon Huns circa 500 CE, the Gupta Empire declined and fragmented, ultimately collapsing completely, with the effect of discrediting Vaishnavism, the religion it had been so ardently promoting.

[60][61] Vaishnavism flourished in predominantly Shaivite Tamil Nadu during the seventh to tenth centuries CE with the twelve Alvars, saints who spread the sect to the common people with their devotional hymns.

[68] Bhakti poets or teachers such as Manavala Mamunigal, Namdev, Ramananda, Sankardev, Surdas, Tulsidas, Eknath, Tyagaraja, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and many others influenced the expansion of Vaishnavism.

A pioneer of Vaishnavite mission to the West was sannyasi Baba Premananda Bharati (1858–1914), the author of the first full-length treatment of Bengali Vaishnavism in English, Sree Krishna—the Lord of Love.

[80] In contrast, Sri Vaishnavism sampradaya associated with Ramanuja has monotheistic elements, but differs in several ways, such as goddess Lakshmi and god Vishnu are considered as inseparable equal divinities.

[88][89][90] These avatars include Narayana, Vasudeva, Rama and Krishna; each the name of a divine figure with attributed supremacy, which each associated tradition of Vaishnavism believes to be distinct.

[4][100] Krishnaism is often also called Bhagavatism—perhaps the earliest Krishnite movement was Bhagavatism with Krishna-Vasudeva (about 2nd century BCE)[40]—after the Bhagavata Purana which asserts that Krishna is "Bhagavan Himself," and subordinates to itself all other forms: Vishnu, Narayana, Purusha, Ishvara, Hari, Vasudeva, Janardana etc.

[101] Krishna is often described as having the appearance of a dark-skinned person and is depicted as a young cowherd boy playing a flute or as a youthful prince giving philosophical direction and guidance, as in the Bhagavad Gita.

[110] While there are much earlier references to the worship of this form of God, it is since Jayadeva wrote the poem Gita Govinda in the twelfth century CE, that the topic of the spiritual love affair between the divine Krishna and his consort Radha, became a theme celebrated throughout India.

[152][154] The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, and presents Bhakti, Jnana and Karma yoga as alternate ways to spiritual liberation, with the choice left to the individual.

[177] The epic details the story of a war between good and evil, each side represented by two families of cousins with wealth and power, one depicted as driven by virtues and values while other by vice and deception, with Krishna playing pivotal role in the drama.

[179][120] The Puranas are an important source of entertaining narratives and histories, states Mahony, that are embedded with "philosophical, theological and mystical modes of experience and expression" as well as reflective "moral and soteriological instructions".

[182] More broadly, the Puranic literature is encyclopedic,[183][184] and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, folk tales, travel guides and pilgrimages,[185] temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, as well as theology and philosophy.

Textual cross referencing evidence suggests that in or after 15th/16th century CE, it went through a series of major revisions, and almost all extant manuscripts of Brahma Vaivarta Purana are now Vaishnava (Krishna) bhakti oriented.

[195][196][197] While an avatar of Vishnu is the main focus of the Puranas of Vaishnavism, these texts also include chapters that revere Shiva, Shakti (goddess power), Brahma and a pantheon of Hindu deities.

[35][note 4] On the other hand, Goloka is considered the eternal abode of Krishna, Svayam bhagavan according to some Vaishnava schools, including Gaudiya Vaishnavism and the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

[254] By the time of Adi Shankara,[252] it had developed the pancayatanapuja, the worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal, namely Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya and Devi (Shakti),[254] "as a solution to varied and conflicting devotional practices.

[72] Sri Vaishnava includes the ritual and temple life in the tantra traditions of Pancharatra, emotional devotion to Vishnu, and the contemplative form bhakti, in the context of householder social and religious duties.

The Vadakalai regard the Vedas as the greatest source of religious authority, emphasising bhakti through devotion to temple-icons, while the Tenkalai rely more on Tamil scriptures and total surrender to God.

Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his main consort Rakhumai (a regional name of Krishna's wife Rukmini).

[292] The Warkari movement includes a duty-based approach towards life, emphasizing moral behavior and strict avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, the adoption of a strict lacto-vegetarian diet and fasting on Ekadashi day (twice a month), self-restraint (brahmacharya) during student life, equality and humanity for all rejecting discrimination based on the caste system or wealth, the reading of Hindu texts, the recitation of the Haripath every day and the regular practice of bhajan and kirtan.